Beloved Huntress
by Hazelstar
Summary: Zoe, my lieutenant, my best friend, my lover, was gone, and the world seemed to be colder, more alien and lonely than before. Artemis musing over Zoe's death. Femslash. Song is My Immortal-Evanescence


Author's Note: I noticed that there wasn't many Artemis/Zoe stories so I decided t write one. Warning, this story contains angst and lesbian romance. Don't like, don't read.

Harsh pain clutched my heart as I stared up at the moon, taking in its features as familiar to me as my own. My eyes wandered to where the Huntress stood outlined in the stars and a choked sob escaped my lips. My beautiful huntress was dead. My brother, Apollo, had told me that in order to heal, one must move on, but how could I mend my broken heart if my beautiful huntress stared down at me every night?

Time could heal just about any wound, but time's power wasn't strong enough to heal the deep slices upon my heart. Gods were supposed to be all powerful and all mighty, but at that moment, I didn't feel like a goddess, I felt like a young girl who had woken up to discover that everything she cared about was gone. Zoe, my lieutenant, my best friend, my lover, was gone, and the world seemed to be colder, more alien and lonely than before. The pain I felt in my chest seemed to grow as I gazed up the stars. It was my fault she had died, if only I hadn't been foolish enough to fall into the Titan's trap then perhaps my Zoe would still be alive today.

She became one of my Hunters after Hercules betrayed her. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her, and technically, I hadn't broken my promise for I swore to turn my back on **men**, I never said anything about woman. Zoe was beautiful, dark hair, pale skin and smoldering grey-blue eyes that could pierce through the toughest armor. I held her as she cried over her lost love; I was the one who killed all that threatened my beloved Zoe. We had been companions for many years before she finally admitted her feelings to me. I was ecstatic, the one I had longed for so long had finally fallen for me. All I could do was whisper a small thanks to Aphrodite, even though I knew the goddess of love would find some way to ensure this romance ended in tragedy. _  
_I can't remember how many times I'd find myself transfixed on small details of Zoe, like the shape of her lovely full lips or the delicate arch of her eyebrows. Sometimes, I even lost myself in the stormy oceans of her eyes that roared with a quiet strength.

She showed me how to live again after Orion's death damaged me. The myth claimed that we were lovers, but that is false, we were close friends and he understood the love I had for Zoe, something rare for men to do.

Zoe knew me like no one else, better than my brother, better than I did. Not an hour passes without something reminding me of her, and just when it seems that the pain in my chest will fade, I see or hear or remember something that causes the pain to roar back to life, like fuel being added to a dying flame. My eyes cannot close without Zoe's face dancing beneath my eyelids, tearing off the weak scab over my heart. Silent tears would then leak from my eyes and slowly trail their way down my cheeks, and for a moment, I could imagine the tears were Zoe's hands, cradling my head in her lightly calloused palms, whispering sweet nothings into my ear, telling me she loved me, and that I was beautiful enough to put all the goddesses to shame.__

I wanted to die, without Zoe, I just couldn't see the point in living. Many mortals have wished to become immortal, but they don't understand how tiring, how lonely one can get watching their loved ones die while they stay the same for all of eternity. Immortality wasn't a gift it was a curse; a curse that kept me from dying and being with my beloved Huntress in the Fields of Elysium.

What was the point of living forever if the one you loved was dead? What would you have to live for if the one thing that kept you from going insane, the one thing that managed to make you smile, suddenly vanished?

Immortality was a tedious task, not one of luxury. Mortals wished to be like us, but I'm sure I wasn't the only immortal who wished to be mortal. __

So many nights I remember waking to Zoe's muffled cries. I would sprint to her side, grabbing her wrists and doing my best to restrain her, a struggle for me in my twelve year old form seeing as Zoe was at least two or three years bigger. She would jerk awake at my soft whisperings and she would gaze at me with tear stained eyes that reminded me of rainclouds, and beg for my forgiveness if she had struck me. __

No matter how many times I told myself that she were resting in the Fields of Elysium in a place where she could be carefree and joyful, I just couldn't accept the fact she were really gone. Every morning when I awoke from my unnecessary sleep, I kept expecting to find her lean arms wrapped protectively around my slender waist, my face buried in her chest, lured to sleep by her slow and steady heartbeat with her chiseled jaw resting on top of my head. When I realized I was alone, and that she was never coming back, I would allow a few tears to escape and the familiar ach would take residence in my heart once again.

Thalia was a good lieutenant but she couldn't replace Zoe, not completely. She knew that, and she didn't bother trying, she did what she could do and wasn't bothered if a girl made a reproachful comment. I pretended not to notice if she did things differently, but secretly, I would scream and wail that Zoe had done something else. Every night, I would sink into a deep sleep imagining that Zoe's arms were wrapped around me, and that my slow, measured breathing was actually hers. But when morning came, the results were always the same, I was alone.__

My brother, god of healing, couldn't heal my heart, and if he couldn't, then nothing else would. I would never heal; nothing could erase my love for Zoe.__

As I watch the starry sky, I trace my Huntress's outline, and a ghost of a smile flickers upon my lips before vanishing. My brave huntress gave her life to save mine, the utter act of devotion and love. I swore I would never forget her, and I intend to keep that promise. I murmured a few words and suddenly, besides the huntress, stood a smaller girl by her side, bow in hand. Together, the two would hunt for eternity, that way, my Huntress would never be alone, and in some small way, neither would I.

Author's Note: Writing this just made me sad, but I so enjoyed it! Please, leave reviews telling me how you feel about it.


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